Dividend Tax Calculator 2026/27
Dividend tax rates rose from 6 April 2026. Finance Act 2026 set the basic rate at 10.75% (up from 8.75%) and the higher rate at 35.75% (up from 33.75%), with the additional rate unchanged at 39.35%. Enter your dividend income and your other income (salary, pension, rental profit) and this calculator stacks everything across the bands, applies the £500 dividend allowance and the personal allowance taper above £100,000, and shows your 2026/27 bill next to what the same income would have cost in 2025/26.
Dividend Tax Calculator 2026/27
Dividend tax rates rose from 6 April 2026. Finance Act 2026 set the basic rate at 10.75% (up from 8.75%) and the higher rate at 35.75% (up from 33.75%), with the additional rate unchanged at 39.35%. Enter your dividend income and your other income (salary, pension, rental profit) and this calculator stacks everything across the bands, applies the £500 dividend allowance and the personal allowance taper above £100,000, and shows your 2026/27 bill next to what the same income would have cost in 2025/26.
Non-dividend income is taxed first, so it determines which bands your dividends fall into. Enter gross figures before tax.
Assumes the standard £12,570 personal allowance and no other reliefs or savings income. Scottish rates do not apply to dividends, so this works UK-wide.
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Dividend tax rates for 2026/27, and how the calculation works
For dividends received on or after 6 April 2026, Finance Act 2026 sets three rates: 10.75% at the basic rate (taxable income up to £37,700 after the personal allowance), 35.75% at the higher rate (up to £125,140 total income), and 39.35% at the additional rate above that. The first £500 of dividends is covered by the dividend allowance and taxed at 0%, although it still uses up band capacity. Your other income (salary, pension, rental profit) is taxed first, so dividends sit on top of it in the bands.
Worked example 1: a director takes a £12,570 salary and £30,000 in dividends. The salary uses the full personal allowance, £500 of dividends is covered by the allowance, and the remaining £29,500 all falls in the basic rate band. Tax at 10.75% is £3,171.25 for 2026/27. The same income in 2025/26 at 8.75% cost £2,581.25, so the new rates add £590.
Worked example 2: someone with £50,270 of salary and £40,000 of dividends. The salary fills the personal allowance and the entire basic rate band, so after the £500 allowance the remaining £39,500 of dividends is all taxed at the higher rate of 35.75%, giving £14,121.25. At the 2025/26 higher rate of 33.75% the bill was £13,331.25, an increase of £790.
Above £100,000 of total income the personal allowance tapers away at £1 for every £2 of income, disappearing entirely at £125,140. The calculator applies this automatically, which is why effective rates climb sharply in that range.
Frequently asked questions
- What are the dividend tax rates for 2026/27?
- From 6 April 2026 the rates are 10.75% at the basic rate, 35.75% at the higher rate, and 39.35% at the additional rate. Finance Act 2026 raised the basic and higher rates by 2 percentage points each from their 2025/26 levels of 8.75% and 33.75%. The additional rate is unchanged.
- What is the dividend allowance for 2026/27?
- £500, unchanged from 2025/26. The first £500 of dividend income is taxed at 0%. It is not a deduction: the allowance still counts towards your basic or higher rate band, so it can push later dividend income into a higher band.
- How much more dividend tax will I pay in 2026/27 than in 2025/26?
- Broadly 2p per £1 of dividends taxed at the basic or higher rate. A basic rate taxpayer with £20,000 of taxable dividends pays about £400 more; a higher rate taxpayer with £40,000 taxed at the higher rate pays about £800 more. Dividends taxed at the additional rate cost the same as before, since that rate stayed at 39.35%. The calculator shows your exact figure.
- Do salary and other income affect my dividend tax rate?
- Yes. Dividends are taxed as the top slice of your income, so your salary, pension and rental income fill the personal allowance and lower bands first. £30,000 of dividends on top of a £12,570 salary is all basic rate; the same £30,000 on top of a £60,000 salary is all higher rate.
- What happens to dividend tax when income goes over £100,000?
- Your personal allowance is reduced by £1 for every £2 of income over £100,000, reaching zero at £125,140. Because dividends count towards this total, dividend income in that range can carry a much higher effective rate than the headline 35.75%. The calculator builds the taper in.
- Do I need to file a Self Assessment return for dividends?
- If your dividend income is over £10,000 you must file a Self Assessment return. Between £500 and £10,000 you can either file a return or ask HMRC to collect the tax through your PAYE tax code. Dividends within the £500 allowance need no action, though company directors often have other reasons to file.
Numbers are one thing. Getting the timing right is another.
Every figure here is modelled on standard 2026/27 thresholds. Your actual position depends on prior-year usage, pension carry-forward, other income sources, and how your decisions interact with each other. We build those models as part of our advisory work.
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